Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Tale of the $250 Car

The other day I went to lunch with some friends at one of my all time favorite fajita and margarita hot spots, On The Border, and ended up buying a car for $250 for Tyler. It's just one of those weird things that would only happen when a bunch of girlfriends get together! The conversation was going, there was laughter, eating, and then all of a sudden I hear-"I just need to get rid of the Sunfire, I just need to take it to salvage". My brain kicks into gear, ordinarily I would ignore this comment and probably tell her to donate the car. However, about 5 years ago Tyler bought a truck for himself for $1000. That truck has been a gem and still is. It has come to the point of needing some work on it, more work than $250 worth. We don't want to get rid of the truck because it is cool, and everyone always has a need for a truck. So knowing this, my ears perk up; "what? salvage? how much do you get at salvage? what is salvage? what is a Sunfire? Is that a Pontiac?" She said she thought about $250 is what salvage would give her (I am still curious what this "salvage" place is). Well, I've got that much, I'll give you $250 for the car. Wait, does it run? Is it drivable? I better call Tyler and check with him. So, I call Tyler and of course we are not going to pass up a car for $250. Especially since fixing the truck will cost more than that. It runs, it's sporty, the brakes and tires are new, it's got some body damage, and it did smoke a bit until Tyler tinkered around with it. It's certainly not perfect. BUT, it was $250. I really had no idea a person could find a car for $250. I have honestly never looked at cars in that price range. Seeing as we went 5 years on a vehicle that cost $1000. I see no reason why we cannot go another 5 years on a vehicle that cost $250. That's pretty good math if you ask me!